A gas turbine engine typically includes a fan section, a compressor section, a combustor section, and a turbine section. Air entering the compressor section is compressed and delivered into the combustion section where it is mixed with fuel and ignited to generate a high-speed exhaust gas flow. The high-speed exhaust gas flow expands through the turbine section to drive the compressor and the fan section.
In general, gas turbine engines include circumferentially spaced vanes forming vane stages that are axially separated from adjacent vane stages by rotor blades. Some gas turbine engines include variable vanes that are rotatable about an axis to vary an angle of the vane to optimize engine performance. In this case, the variable vanes are mechanically connected to a synchronizing ring (“sync-ring”) by a vane arm to allow the variable vane to be rotated as the sync-ring is rotated. The sync-ring is rotated by an actuator that is mechanically connected to the sync-ring to vary the angle of the vane. As the sync-ring is rotated in a circumferential direction around the engine, the relative angle of variable vanes at each stage is varied in order to optimize engine performance. During operation of the engine, the sync-ring experiences reaction forces that can elastically deflect the sync-ring out of concentric resulting in vane angle variation between vanes in the same stage. Accordingly, it is desirable to develop improved sync-ring designs to improve operation and engine performance.